To adjust the operating parameters, in particular the optimum working points, of an internal combustion engine, the air mass supplied to the engine must be measured. In the case of conventional methods, so-called hot-film or hot-wire air-mass meters are used to detect the air mass.
Generally, to determine air mass, the temperature of the air supplied to the combustion chambers of an internal combustion engine must be measured. For this purpose, temperature detectors are used, which measure the temperature in the intake pipe or in the manifold. In the case of turbo-charged engines, the temperature detector is located between the supercharger and the engine intake.
Preferably, NTC detectors are used as temperature detectors, since they are inexpensive. However, the disadvantage of these temperature detectors is that they react relatively slowly to changes in temperatures, and, thus, have a relatively large time constant.